Acute Optic Neuritis
Investigators shared the innovative study design for the ongoing OCTAGON trial (Optical Coherence Tomography as Measure of the Effects of Glatiramer Acetate on Axonal Loss in Patients with Acute Optic Neuritis) at this year’s American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting (April 10-17 in Toronto).
The OCTAGON study is the first acute optic neuritis (AON) study to use optical coherence tomography (OCT), a non-invasive technology that creates a high-resolution color image of the eye using light and light rays instead of ultrasound. Additionally, the study utilizes a centralized reading center with careful image processing and it has eighty percent power to detect a difference from baseline of 5 microns with small sample size of a 100 patients per arm.
OCTAGON is a 6-month 2-arm study is currently enrolling patients with a first event of isolated unilateral AON to receive treatment with glatiramer acetate 20mg daily SQ or placebo. The study will test whether glatiramer acetate, a market leading treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), may protect the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) in AON patients. Study design calls for prompt recruitment within nine days.
More information about the OCTAGON trial can be found on the trial’s website: http://www.tevaclinicaltrials.com/Acute-Optic-Neuritis/default.aspx.